Spencer groggily awoke from his fitful sleep, wincing as he felt the lump on his head. What happened?

Then it all came back to him; his failed attempt at escape, the blinding pain, the forceful dragging down into another basement.

Spencer groaned as he looked around him. The walls were gray and the floor was dirty. There was a cot in the corner that sadly he wasn't on; he was sitting chained to the floor. Besides a few pieces of random furniture, nothing seemingly evil occupied the basement.

Fear gripped Spencer's heart as he realized that his escape plan was going to cause him pain; a lot.

But the team wouldn't give up on him yet, right? They wouldn't forget about him, would they?

Spencer didn't have time to contemplate the answer because at that moment, the door to the basement opened and the unSub walked in, something in his hands.

"So the escape artist is awake," mocked the unSub, that awful glint in his eyes again. Reid whimpered and tried to bring his knees up to his chest. Not again…

"Did you honestly think you were going to get away from me that easily?" he asked, tilting his head to one side, eyeing Spencer up and down.

Reid only shivered and glared in response.

"Ah well," the unSub sighed. "I tried to tell you what would happen if you pulled something like this again. You must learn obedience."

"Please, I'm sorry, I won't-"

"Uh, uh, uh- too late for that."

Reid didn't even see the first punch coming, but it smacked against his right ear, making him yelp in surprise. The blows continued to reign on him for what felt like years until they finally ceased, giving him five seconds rest.

Reid panted heavily and tried to push himself up slowly when the hated searing pain sliced across his back again.

"GAH!" shouted Spencer. He looked back to the unSub, who was holding the whip again.

Again the unSub delivered the blows onto the young genius' back, making him sob raggedly.

He screamed again; for Morgan to make it stop. If Morgan was here, he would have killed the unSub. He would have stopped the pain. But Morgan wasn't here.

For Hotch, who would tell him it would be okay and that he was going to get him out of here. Hotch would find a way to get him out of here alive. But Hotch wasn't here.

For Gideon, who would help him think of a way to get himself out of this. Gideon always liked to make Spencer come up with his own solutions. He would save Spencer. But Gideon wasn't here.

For Penelope, to track him.

For Emily, to make the pain stop.

For JJ, to get the entire state to hunt this guy down.

None of them were here. They had forgotten him; left him.

He was utterly alone.

The unSub stopped mercifully. He took a moment to stare at his captive and take in his bloodied back, torso, and face.

"You can call me Walter," he said thoughtfully.

Spencer replied by letting out a moan of agony. But it wasn't because of the pain from the whip. It was because he had no family left.

…..

Emily and Hotch were still in the house when they heard a knock at the door. Emily stared at Hotch in confusion. Garcia wasn't supposed to be here for another hour…

Hotch went and opened the door only to find an elderly woman standing there, looking concerned.

"I heard that you all needed information about Walter, is that right?" she asked sweetly. " I heard it on the 6 o'clock news," she said knowingly.

Hotch welcomed her in and the three of them sat down in the living room.

"Mrs.-" Emily realized that she didn't know her surname.

"Samuels. Mrs. Samuels, dear."

"Mrs. Samuels, what can you tell us about Walter's family?"

"Well, he grew up in this house. Lived here his whole life. He was a cute lad, very quiet, extremely shy, barely heard two words out of his mouth," she started. She got a thoughtful expression, however. "But I knew his daddy. Never met a more miserable man in my entire life. Never met a more messed up family for that matter."

"Can you tell us what happened?" asked Hotch patiently, but silently urging her to hurry. They needed to find Reid.

"Where to start? Well, Walter's mom left the family when he was about nine, I'd say. It kind of turned the whole family upside down, if you know what I mean. The oldest brother became an addict. Crack, I believe. His daddy kicked him out when he found out. Another brother and one of the sisters ran away from home, and they never heard from them again. Walter's father was left with only Walter, who, according to his daddy, wasn't how a boy should be.

"You see, Walter is very intelligent. Top of his class and skipped two years. But his daddy wanted an athlete or player as a son, not a 'pansy' as I heard him once put it. He beat Walter silly, hoping to beat the smartness out of him, he thought. Walter's uncle took part in it as well sometimes. I never saw Walter much after that, but every time I did, he seemed to have accumulated more scars until at one point, I didn't even recognize him.

"Then one day when Walter was eighteen, his daddy disappeared as well, and his uncle. But Walter was legally an adult and didn't need anyone to live with him. Since that day, he has lived alone. I did hear he got a job at the police station thought," Mrs. Samuels put in as an afterthought.

"Thank you, ma'am, that was more helpful than you could realize," said Emily sincerely. "Now, do you know if Walter had any friends?"

"None that I know of. He spent most of his time alone at home or by the coast."

"Wait, the coast? Do you know where?" asked Hotch eagerly.

"I'm sorry son, I don't."

"That's okay," sighed Emily, dismayed. They were so close.

After Mrs. Samuels left, Hotch spoke to her.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That Walter's dad and uncle didn't go missing?"

"That we need Garcia to check our unSub's house records."

"I think this is it, Hotch. I think we got him."

Hotch didn't answer. He didn't want to get his hopes up again. It had been a week since Reid's abduction. The chances of finding him were so slim, it pained Hotch to even think about it.

But they didn't have any other options. Dead or alive, they would find their team member.

…

Author's Note:

WE REACHED 100 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

As a side note, to answer some review questions, this story will include Reid's recovery.

With love, MissdaVinci77